Novel Method of Protein Purification

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides methods for releasing intracellular proteins. The method allows isolation of the protein of interest from the cell without the requirement for mechanical disruption of the cells, without the need for isolation of the cells from the culture media, and without the need for removal of the cells from the culture media.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/800,345, filed Mar. 15, 2013, the entire contents are whichhereby incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

The invention disclosed herein was made in part with Government funding,and the Government has certain rights in the invention. In particular,portions of the invention disclosed herein were funded, in part, underContract No. N01-AI-60015C awarded by National Institutes of Health.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to a novel method and reagents toobtain intracellular proteins from a cell culture.

BACKGROUND

The concerns surrounding large-scale purification of proteins are anincreasingly important issue for the biotechnology industry. Numerousdisorders have been the subject of protein or enzyme replacement therapyincluding, dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, and lysosomal storagedisorders such as Gaucher disease, Fabry disease and Pompe disease. Thelarge scale protein production required to supply patients must be costsensitive, have production efficiency and yield high quality product.The process of protein purification is lengthy in time, burdensome aswell as costly. These disadvantages greatly affect the cost of proteinreplacement therapy and pose a formidable challenge to healthcare ingeneral.

Protein production is mainly performed in cells, i.e., mammalian,bacterial or fungal engineered to produce the protein of interest byinsertion of a recombinant plasmid containing the gene for that protein.Cells expressing the protein of interest are cultured in a complexgrowth medium, containing sugars, amino acids, and growth factors,usually supplied from preparations of animal serum. Purificationrequires separation of the desired protein from the mixture of compoundsfed to the cells as well as from cellular debris in order to puritysufficient amounts in high quality for use as a human therapeutic

Procedures for purification of proteins from cell debris are lengthy andcomplex. Multiple and repeated steps required to remove the protein ofinterest greatly compromises the final protein yield and quality. Inmany instances, the protein must be functional upon purification.

Recombinant proteins expressed in an intracellular compartment of abiological expression system are generally released from the expressionsystem cells by mechanical disruption in cases where there is a cellwall. Such mechanical methods include homogenization, microfluidization,nitrogen burst, ultrasonic, and bead agitation methods. Other methodsinclude the addition of enzymes to partially degrade cell wallcomponents followed by osmotic agents to induce rupture and release ofperiplasm contents. These methods combining enzymatic digestion andchemical treatment are largely used for expressed proteins targeted tothe periplasmic space in gram negative bacteria. Cells that have no cellwall may be disrupted by osmotic pressure without addition of enzymes,or complete by disruption of the cell membrane using detergents ororganic solvents. Disruption methods may be used in combination forenhanced efficiency.

Most of the previous methods are suitable only for release of proteinsfrom the periplasmic compartment, or result in complete disruption ofthe cell compartment. When the cell is completely disrupted, DNA may bereleased from subcellular compartments and cause formation of a highlyviscous liquid. The DNA can be sheared or enzymatically degraded toreduce viscosity and enable handling the process fluid stream duringlarger scale productions. These steps are used successfully forproduction of pharmaceutical grade proteins; however, each process stepincreases the complexity, time and cost of manufacturing

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure provides novel methods and reagents related tothe method to purify intracellular proteins of interest from bacterialcells, particularly E. coli, present in a culture media (i) withoutremoval of the cells from the culture media, (ii) without usingmechanical disruption of the cells or the use of enzymes to degrade cellwall; and (iii) without consolidating the population of cells to aconcentrated pellet form.

The disclosed method is used to release intracellular recombinantproteins by the addition of a pre-determined combination of inorganicsalts and detergents to permeabilize cells for the release ofrecombinant proteins without causing the total disruption of cells,thereby reducing the amount of DNA release and resulting increasedviscosity.

The remaining cellular debris may be purified away from a solublerecombinant protein by a centrifugation step following selectiveprecipitation.

The method may be accomplished by a series of steps involving theaddition of the appropriate chemical reagents to the bioreactor aftercompletion of cell culture, i.e., fermentation. These chemical reagentsare added to the culture in a stepwise manner. The reagents are alsoadded so as to achieve a particular concentration of that reagent. Themethod requires the presence of the chemical reagent in the solution fora defined amount of time.

The method does not require isolation of the cells from the cellculture. Further, it does not require removal of the growth media priorto addition of the reagents (“release reagents”). The method does notutilize mechanical disruption to lyse the cells.

In doing so, the method reduces the complexity, time and cost ofmanufacturing, while increasing the robustness due to reduced DNArelease.

This document provides a method for releasing a protein of interest froma bacterial cell or fungal expressing the protein of interest. Themethod includes: (a) providing a culture of cells expressing a proteinof interest (e.g., cells expressing the protein of interest and growthmedia in which the cells have been cultured); (b) contacting the cultureof cells with an inorganic salt (e.g., by adding a compositioncomprising the inorganic salt to the culture); (c) holding the culturecontaining the added inorganic salt for at least 10 minutes; (d)contacting the culture containing the added inorganic salt with achelating agent (e.g., by adding a composition comprising the chelatingagent the culture); (e) holding the culture containing the addedinorganic salt and the added chelating agent for at least 10 minutes;(f) optionally adjusting the pH of the culture containing the addedinorganic salt and the added chelating agent to a pH between 4 and 9;(g) holding the culture containing the added inorganic salt and theadded chelating agent for at least 15 minutes after pH adjustment; (h)contacting the culture containing the added inorganic salt and the addedchelating agent with a detergent; (i) holding the culture containing theadded inorganic salt, the added chelating agent and the added detergentfor at least 1 hour; (j) optionally lowering the temperature of theculture containing the added inorganic salt, the added chelating agentand the added detergent; (k) contacting the culture containing the addedinorganic salt, the added chelating agent and the added detergent with aprecipitating agent; (l) holding the culture containing the addedinorganic salt, the added chelating agent, the added detergent, and theadded precipitating agent for at least 1 hour; and (m) subjecting theculture comprising the added inorganic salt, the added chelating agent,the added detergent and the added precipitating agent to a method toremove a substantial portion (e.g., at least 90%) of the cellulardebris. The method does not include at least two steps selected from agroup consisting of: (i) mechanical disruption of the cell, (ii)removing all or substantially all of the culture media prior to theadditions, and (iii) addition of an enzyme that digests cell wallmaterial. In some cases, the method does not include any of: (i)mechanical disruption of the cell, (ii) removing substantially all ofthe culture media, and (iii) addition of an enzyme that digests cellwall material. The above method can also include removing a portion orsubstantially all of the culture media.

In the above method where an inorganic salt is used, the inorganic saltcan be sodium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, and sodium chloride. In theabove method where a detergent is used, it can be Triton, SDS, CHAPS 3,Nonidet P40, n-Octylglucoside, and Tween-20. The method above also usesa mixture of two detergents that can be selected from Triton, SDS, CHAPS3, Nonidet P40, n-Octylglucoside, and Tween-20. The method above thatalso uses a precipitating agent that can be PEI, and ammonium salt, andpolyethylene glycol, TCA and ethanol.

I some cases the cell expressing the desired protein is E. coli. Theabove method uses a bacterial cell that is a gram negative bacteria. Thedesired protein is an intracellular protein (i.e., it is not secretedfrom the cell). The protein of interest can be DAS 181.

In all the above methods, the step of holding the culture containing theinorganic salt occurs for at least 20 minutes. In all the above methodsthe step of holding the culture containing the inorganic salt and thechelating agent can be for at least 15 minutes is at least 30 minutes,45 minutes, or 1 hour or between 30 min and 1 hour.

In all the above methods, the step of holding the culture containing theinorganic salt, the chelating agent and the detergent can take place forat least 1 hour, at least 30 minutes, 1 hours, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours, hours 6 hours, 7 hours, 8hours, 9 hours, 10 hours, 11 hours, 12 hours, or 5-13 hours. In all theabove methods, the step of holding the culture containing the inorganicsalt, the chelating agent, the detergent and the precipitating agent cantake place for at least 1 hour, at least 30 minutes, 1 hours, 2 hours, 3hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours, hours 6 hours, 7hours, 8 hours, 9 hours, 10 hours, 11 hours, 12 hours, or 5-13 hours.

The steps can take place when the mixture is at 25-35° C., preferably30° C. The temperate of the mixture can be reduced below 25° C., e.g.,between 25 and 20° C. or to between 21 and 23° C. prior to the additionof precipitating agent.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment the novel protein releaseprotocol.

FIG. 2 is a comparison of the protein release method requiringhomogenization lysis as compared to the novel protein release method(“detergent solubilization”).

FIG. 3A-3E are the SDS PAGE analyses of the homogenization lysisprotocol and the detergent solubilization protocol. FIGS. 3A and Bdepict the coomassie detection of proteins isolated from thehomogenization protocol (FIG. 3A) and the detergent solubilizationprotocol (FIG. 3B). FIGS. 3C and D depict the silver detection ofproteins isolated from the homogenization protocol (FIG. 3C) and thedetergent solubilization protocol (FIG. 3C). FIG. 3E is the SDS-PAGEcomparison gel with silver detection In FIG. 3A, lanes 1-10 contain: themolecular weight marker, clarified homogenate, SP Flow-through, SPEluate, HIC Eluate, Post HIC TFF, RPC Load, RPC Eluate, and DAS181 RefStd 750-0406-002, respectively. In FIG. 3B, lanes 1-10 contain:Molecular Weight Marker, PEI Clarified Detergent, Detergent SP Load,Detergent SP Flow-through, Detergent SP Eluate, Detergent HIC Eluate,Detergent Post-HIC TFF, RPC Load, RPC Eluate and DAS181 Ref Std750-0406-002, respectively. In FIG. 3C, lanes 1-10 contain: theMolecular Weight Marker, Clarified Homogenate, SP Flow-through, SPEluate, HIC Eluate, Post HIC TFF, RPC Eluate, and DAS181 Ref Std750-0406-002, respectively.

FIG. 4 is the flow chart of the optimized method of detergentsolubilization and the steps of protein purification.

FIG. 5 A-F are analyses of protein for Runs A and B. FIGs A-C are thecoomassie stain, Western Blot and Silver Stain analyses of detergentsolubilization yields of Run A, respectively. Lanes 1-10 for theseanalyses are as follows: MW Marker, SP Eluate (Ferm 20110523F2), HIC FT,UF/DF #1 Pool, Capto Adhere FT pH 7.7, Titrated Capto Adhere FT pH 5.0,Drug Substance and DAS 181 Ref. Std, respectively. FIGs D-F are thecoomassie stain, Western Blot and Silver Stain of the detergentsolubilization yields of Run B, respectively. Lanes 1-10 for theseanalyses are as follows: MW Marker, SP Eluate (Ferm 20110613F2), HIC FT,UF/DF #1 Pool, Capto Adhere FT pH 7.7, Titrated Capto Adhere FT pH 5.0,Drug Substance, and DAS181 Ref. Std. Lot 46-012, respectively.

FIGS. 6 A and 6B are the SDS-PAGE analyses of DAS181 purity. Shown inFIG. 4A: lane is 1 MW Marker, lane 2 is Drug Substance Ferm 20110523F2,lanes 4 & 5 are Drug Substance Ferm 20110613F2, and lane 6 is DAS181Phase 2 Ref. Std. Lot 46-012. Shown in FIG. 4B are differentconcentrations of the protein: 8-20 μg.

FIGS. 7A-7C show the RP-HPLC comparison of DAS 181 from: the integratedRun A, integrated Run B and the DAS reference standard

FIG. 8A-8C show the CEX-HPLC comparison of DAS181 from: integrated runA, integrated run B, and the DAS reference.

FIG. 9 is an SDS-PAGE analyses of DAS181 stability over several weeks ofstorage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The methods described herein can be used generally to release anintracellular protein for from bacterial cells, particularly E. coli.The examples herein relate to release of DAS (Malakhov et al.,Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., 1470-1479 (2006)) from E. coli. DAS181 isa fusion protein containing the heparin (glysosaminoglycan, or GAG)binding domain from human amphiregulin fused via its N-terminus to theC-terminus of a catalytic domain of Actinomyces viscosus (e.g., sequenceof amino acids set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 (no amino terminal methionine)and SEQ ID NO: 2 (including amino terminal methionine). The geneticallyengineered cells described herein contain one or more nucleic acidsencoding the DAS181 protein. Cells suitable for in vivo production ofDAS 181 or for recombinant production of any of the polypeptidesdescribed herein can be of bacterial or fungal origin.

Overexpressing a protein in a cell (e.g., a bacterial cell) can beachieved using an expression vector. Expression vectors can beautonomous or integrative. A recombinant nucleic acid (e.g., oneencoding DAS181) can be in introduced into the cell in the form of anexpression vector such as a plasmid. The recombinant nucleic acid can bemaintained extra chromosomally or it can be integrated into thechromosomal DNA. Expression vectors can contain selection marker genesencoding proteins required for cell viability under selected conditions(to permit detection and/or selection of those cells transformed withthe desired nucleic acids. Expression vectors can also include anautonomous replication sequence (ARS).

Transformed cells (i.e., bacterial cells) can be selected for by usingappropriate techniques including, but not limited to, culturingauxotrophic cells after transformation in the absence of the biochemicalproduct required, selection for and detection of a new phenotype, orculturing in the presence of an antibiotic which is toxic to the yeastin the absence of a resistance gene contained in the transformants.Transformants can also be selected and/or verified by integration of theexpression cassette into the genome, which can be assessed by, e.g.,Southern blot or PCR analysis. Prior to introducing the vectors into atarget cell of interest, the vectors can be grown (e.g., amplified) inbacterial cells such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) as described above.The vector DNA can be isolated from bacterial cells by any of themethods known in the art which result in the purification of vector DNAfrom the bacterial milieu. The purified vector DNA can be extractedextensively with phenol, chloroform, and ether, to ensure that no E.coli proteins are present in the plasmid DNA preparation, since theseproteins can be toxic to mammalian cells.

Expression systems that can be used for small or large scale productionof polypeptides include, without limitation, microorganisms such asbacteria (e.g., E. coli) transformed with recombinant bacteriophage DNA,plasmid DNA, or cosmid DNA expression vectors containing the nucleicacid molecules, and fungal (e.g., S. cerevisiae) transformed withrecombinant fungal expression vectors containing the nucleic acidmolecules.

In general, for in vivo production of a protein of interest by bacterial(e.g., E. coli) recombinant cells, the cells can be cultured in anaqueous nutrient medium comprising sources of assimilatable nitrogen andcarbon, typically under submerged aerobic conditions (shaking culture,submerged culture, etc.). The aqueous medium can be maintained at a pHof 4.0-8.0 (e.g., 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, or 7.5), using protein componentsin the medium, buffers incorporated into the medium or by externaladdition of acid or base as required. Suitable sources of carbon in thenutrient medium can include, for example, carbohydrates, lipids andorganic acids such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, glycerol, starch,vegetable oils, petrochemical derived oils, succinate, formate and thelike. Suitable sources of nitrogen can include, for example, yeastextract, Corn Steep Liquor, meat extract, peptone, vegetable meals,distillers solubles, dried yeast, and the like as well as inorganicnitrogen sources such as ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate, nitratesalts, urea, amino acids and the like.

Carbon and nitrogen sources, advantageously used in combination, neednot be used in pure form because less pure materials, which containtraces of growth factors and considerable quantities of mineralnutrients, are also suitable for use. Desired mineral salts such assodium or potassium phosphate, sodium or potassium chloride, magnesiumsalts, copper salts and the like can be added to the medium. An antifoamagent such as liquid paraffin or vegetable oils may be added in tracequantities as required but is not typically required.

Cultivation of recombinant cells (e.g., E. coli cells) expressing aprotein of interest can be performed under conditions that promoteoptimal biomass and/or enzyme titer yields. Such conditions include, forexample, batch, fed-batch or continuous culture. Further, changes to theparameters of the conditions can also promote optimal biomass and/orenzyme titer yields of the DAS 181 protein. Such conditions include, forexample, glycerol concentration in the culture media and high pO₂. Forproduction of high amounts of biomass, submerged aerobic culture methodscan be used, while smaller quantities can be cultured in shake flasks.For production in large tanks, a number of smaller inoculum tanks can beused to build the inoculum to a level high enough to minimize the lagtime in the production vessel. The medium for production of thebiocatalyst is generally sterilized (e.g., by autoclaving) prior toinoculation with the cells. Aeration and agitation of the culture can beachieved by mechanical means simultaneous addition of sterile air or byaddition of air alone in a bubble reactor. A higher pO₂ (dissolvedoxygen) can be used during cultivation in, for example, a bioreactor topromote optimal biomass. It can also be used to promote optimal activeprotein expression in the biomass culture. Implementation of suchfermentation parameters, including a higher partial oxygen pressure andstepwise glycerol depletion, can result in an increased production ofthe protein in interest.

Method of Detergent Solubilization In-Situ Detergent Permeabilization

Following sufficient culturing for the desired protein expression, theculture is harvested by stopping feed addition and airflow into thereactor, and by reducing the agitation speed 100 to 250 rpm. Thetemperature is set in the range of 15° C. to 45° C. to prepare for thepermeabilization step. In some embodiments, the temperature may be setat 30° C. This is also referred to as the pre-treatment step in thisdisclosure. An inorganic salt (e.g., sodium phosphate, ammonium sulfate,and sodium chloride) can be added to a final concentration in the rangeof 10-100 mM. In some embodiments, the final concentration of inorganicsalt is 50 mM. The solution is allowed to be mixed for at least 10 or atleast 20 minutes. A chelating agent such as Ethylenediamine TetraaceticAcid (EDTA) is added to a final concentration in the range of 50-200 mMand mixed for at least 10 minutes or at least 20 minutes. In someembodiments, EDTA is added to a final concentration of 100 mM (e.g., 50nM-250 nM). The pH can subsequently adjusted to 5.0-6.0 (e.g., usingphosphoric acid). In some embodiments, the pH is adjusted to 6. Thematerial is incubated for at least 10 minutes (e.g., amount of time inthe range of 30 minutes to 180 minutes or longer) with mixing (e.g., atan mixing speed of 400-450 rpm). In some embodiments of the method, thematerial is incubated for 60 minutes. A detergent (e.g., Triton, SDS,CHAPS 3, Nonidet P40, n-Octylglucoside, and Tween-20) or a combinationof detergents, e.g., Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) Triton-X 100, is addedto the mixture. The Triton-X 100 may be used in the range of 2-15%together in combination with 0.01-1% SDS. In some embodiments, 10% SDSsolution is subsequently added to a final concentration of 0.1% andTriton X-100 is added simultaneously to a final concentration of 7%. Thesolution is mixed can be mixed for an amount of time in the range of 1-5hours at a moderate speed at a temperature in the range of 15-45° C. Insome embodiments, the solution is mixed for 3 hours at a moderate speedat 30° C.

Clarification

Following incubation in the detergent combination, the mixturetemperature is reduced to 22° C. Ten percent (10%) PEI, pH 6.0 stocksolution is subsequently added to a final concentration of 0.5%. Thesolution can be mixed for the amount of time in the range of 6-24 hoursat 22° C. In some embodiments, the solution is mixed for 6-12 hours at22° C. In another embodiment of the method, the solution is mixed for atarget of 6-8 hours at 22° C. The mixture is subsequently clarified bycontinuous flow centrifugation using Sharples AS-14 (feedflow rate: 1L/min). The turbidity (OD600 nm) of the mixture is measured at T=0. Themixture can optionally be held at ambient temperature overnight prior tostarting the protein purification process.

Following the above detergent solubilization methodology, products maybe subject to further purification.

EXAMPLES

The invention is further described in the following examples, which donot limit the scope of the invention described in the claims.

The invention is a novel protein purification protocol that is performedwithout the requirement for the method of mechanical disruption of thecell or enzymatic degradation of the cell wall by exogenously addedenzyme. It is also completed without the requirement of the isolation ofthe cells from the cell culture and further, does not have therequirement of removal of the cells from the culture medium.

The present novel solubilization protocol was optimized to yield highquality and stable protein of interest, DAS 181. The optimization ofthis novel protein purification is defined herein. The present protocolis also one that has benefits over the common mode of proteinpurification known in the art, namely homogenization. The quality,stability and integrity of the protein of interest, DAS 181, uponpurification via homogenization is compared to that via the novelsolubilization protocol. The present protein purification protocolutilizes reagents at specified concentrations for a specified window oftime. The optimization of these parameters is discussed below.

Example 1 Protein Yield and Quality Resulting from Homogenization asCompared to Detergent Solubilization

Extensive investigation was performed to optimize solubilization for insitu release of the protein of interest, DAS181, from cells as astreamlined alternative to protocols involving mechanicalhomogenization. Solubilization as compared to homogenization wouldreduce process time by allowing the release of DAS 181 from cellswithout the steps of cell isolation, cell washing, resuspension, andhomogenization. The details of Example 1 describe the methodology ofsolubilization as compared to that of homogenization and the subsequentresults regarding protein yield as well as the quality of the purifiedprotein. Flow charts depicting the methods of both solubilization andhomogenization are presented in FIG. 2.

Method

Fermentations 20100201 F2 (F2) and 20100201 F3 (F3) were harvested after24 hours of induction. The fermentations were pooled and split into twoaliquots. Each aliquot was subject to either the solubilization methodor the homogenization method going forward.

Preparation Via the Homogenization Method:

One aliquot (A) was centrifuged to remove the culture media. Thepelleted cells were suspended in a buffer comprising 50 mM potassiumphosphate and 200 mM NaCl, pH 8, and subsequently subject to two passesof homogenization at 15,000 psi on ice. The homogenate was then held atambient temperature until further processing. The homogenate wassubsequently treated with polyethyleneimine (PEI; stock 10% PEI, pH 8)to a final concentration of 0.5% and held at ambient temperature.

Preparation Via the Solubilization Method:

The second aliquot (B) was returned, as is, to the incubator fordetergent solubilization at 30° C. Dibasic sodium phosphate heptahydrateand 1M EDTA (free acid at pH 8.7) was added to a final concentration of50 mM, and 100 mM, respectively, under slow agitation. The pH wasadjusted to 6.0 with 50% HCl and agitation was increased. The mixturewas allowed to incubate for one hour prior to the addition of SDS andTriton X-100 to a final concentration of 0.3% and 5%, respectively.After 6 hours of detergent solubilization, the temperature of thesolubilysate was reduced to 22° C., after which 10% PEI, pH 6 was addedto a final concentration of 0.5%.

Going forward, both aliquots were treated equally. Aliquot A and B wereincubated overnight while stirring. The homogenate was subsequentlytitrated to pH 6 using 50% HCl and allowed to shake for approximately 5hours. Both aliquots were centrifuged and the supernatants filteredusing further purification methods. The Clarified Detergent SolubilizedDAS 181 was diluted 1:1 with H2O and subject to additional purificationmethods. The homogenate was purified without the load dilution of theproduct of the further purification. Samples at each step were subjectto measurement of OD600 nm and DTM CEX-HPLC to deduce yield and quality.

The DAS181 reference material is utilized as the standard for the assaysbelow. Das181 reference material was purified using conventionalhomogenous protein purification method. The purified DAS 181 is presentin its active form.

Results

Turbidity of the centrifuged lysates following PEI treatment wasdetermined before and after further purification. After continuous flowcentrifugation, both lysates were found to be similar in turbidity withan OD600 nm of approximately 0.9. Following further purification, theturbidity of clarified homogenate was observed to be 0.1, while that ofthe clarified detergent material was 0.2. The reduced turbidity observedin the homogenate material was attributed to the PEI step performed atpH 8 as compared to pH 6 as in the detergent step of the solubilizationmethod. In addition, as the homogenate material requires titration to pH6 prior to centrifugation, the material was less stable over time.Clarified homogenate material held at RT and 4° C. increased inturbidity from 0.1 to 0.2 after 24 hours, while the turbidity of theclarified detergent material remained unchanged.

Yield at each process step was remarkably similar for both the lysismethods as shown in Table 1. The detergent solubilization step resultedin 83% of the total cellular protein amount being released whereas thehomogeniziation step yielded 92%. Loss, however, was observed in thepre-homogenization cell centrifugation step. The yield, therefore, fromfermentation to homogenization was 85%. The yield following PEIprecipitation and each column step for the homogenate was similar. Theoverall yield for homogenization was 48%, while the yield for detergentsolubilization was 44%.

TABLE 1 Comparison of protein yield from homogenization and newsolubilization method Homogenization Solubilization Step Total StepTotal Process Intermediate Yield Yield Yield Yield Harvest 100.0% 100.0%100.0% 100.0% Cell Pellet 92.8% 92.8% Lysate 91.7% 85.1% 83.3% 83.3% PEIClarified Lysate 89.6% 76.3% 90.5% 75.3% Filtered Lysate 97.8% 74.6%97.2% 73.2% SP Load 100.0% 74.6% 95.0% 69.6% SP Flow-through 0.0% 0.0%0.0% 0.0% SP Eluate 107.6% 80.3% 107.8% 75.0% HIC FT Pool 86.3% 69.3%86.0% 64.5% Post-HIC TFF 98.4% 65.0% 96.3% 59.8% RPC FT Pool 90.2% 48.3%75.0% 43.7%

Further purification was carried out and a summary of the productquality results is shown in Table 2. It was shown that the final productof homogenization and detergent solubilization is 99.9% and 99.8%monomer, respectively. The purity of the homogenate was 97.9%, while thepurity of the detergent pool was 98.4%. Further purification showed thatthe homogenate RT FT pool was 6.5% peak F, 12.6 deamidated (peak C), and81.0% main peak (peak A). The detergent pool was 7.3% peak F, 8.2%deamidated (peak C), and 84.5% main peak (peak A). The difference indeamidation is likely to be a result of the detergent process occurringat pH 6, whereas homogenization occurs at pH 8.

TABLE 2 DAS181 quality summary comparison between homogenization and thrnew method ‘solubilization’ Homogenate Solubilysate SP Eluate HIC FT RPFT SP Eluate HIC FT RP FT Further protein 1 6.2% 6.1% 6.5% 6.2% 6.5%7.3% purification methods: 2 11.4% 12.0% 12.6% 6.9% 7.5% 8.2% 3 82.4%81.9% 81.0% 86.9% 86.0% 84.5% 4 95.1% 96.4% 97.9% 95.9% 97.7% 98.4% 597.5% 98.8% 99.9% 97.8% 99.4% 99.8% 6 53800.0 1700.0 227.0 25700.0 39.0BLQ

Analysis using further purification was also performed on the columnfractions from each lysis method and is summarized in Table 2. Thehomogenate SP eluate contained nearly twice the amount of HCP than thedetergent SP eluate. The homogenate following further purificationcontained over 40-fold the amount of HCP. The homogenate followingfurther purification contained 227 ng/mg HCP and ≦16 ng/mg (BLQ),respectively.

SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the SP eluate produced fromhomogenization appeared slightly less pure than the detergent SP eluate(FIGS. 3A-3C). Overall, the samples produced from both lysis methodswere similar. The final pools from the homogenization and detergentsolubilization were consistent with the DAS 181 reference standardpresent in Lane 9, and 8 of FIGS. 3A, B and C, respectively.

It was concluded that the overall yield and product quality resultingfrom the detergent solubilization method and homogenization wascomparable with the exception of the presence of host cell impurities inthe lysate resulting from the homogenization process. These observationssuggested that reduced processing time, enhanced process robustness, anda possible reduction in host cell impurities suggests that detergentsolubilization is a viable alternative to homogenization for proteinpurification. These results justified the further testing andoptimization of the detergent solubilization method.

Example 2 Optimization of Detergent Solubilization for ProteinExpression and Purification

Optimization of the novel detergent solubilization protocol was toensure DAS 181 drug substance purity as adequate and reproducible. Thecleaning of the SP Capture column was made more effective with the useof a chaotropic agent, guanidine, in place of NaCl to ensure sufficientregeneration. Further, DAS 181 recovery in the SP eluate was improved byincreasing the dilution of the centrifugation supernatant prior toloading the sepharose resin. Hydrophobic interaction chromatography withHexyl-650C resin was further optimized with an increase in loadingcapacity. The filtration and polishing steps were replaced with a singlechromatography operation using a multimodal strong anion exchangerresin.

Method

Fermentation samples 20110523F2 and 20110613F2 were harvested after a 24hour induction. Agitation was set to 250 rpm. Dibasic sodium phosphateheptahydrate and 1 M EDTA free acid at pH 8.7 was added to a finalconcentration of 50 mM and 100 mM. Agitation was increased to 350 rpmand the pH adjusted to 6.0 by the addition of phosphoric acid. Themixture was incubated for one hour prior to an increase in agitation to400 rpm and the addition of SDS and Triton X-100 to a finalconcentration of 0.1% and 7%, respectively. Three hours followingdetergent permeabilization, the temperature of the permeabilysate wasreduced to 22° C. Ten percent (10%) PEI, pH 6 was added to a finalconcentration of 0.5%. The materials were incubated for 6 hours beforeseparation. The resulting supernatant was filtered using furtherpurification methods. The clarified detergent permeabilysate was dilutedby 125% volume to a final 2 M urea concentration.

Results

The final optimized recovery and purification processes are summarizedFIG. 4. Two separate runs (Run A and Run B) of the novel detergentprotocol were conducted in parallel and analyzed to deduce optimizationof the protocol. SDS-PAGE with detection by Coomassie Blue, silverstain, and western blot analysis of purification intermediates from RunA (FIGS. 5A-5C) and Run B (FIGS. 5D-5F) showed stepwise increases inpurity as purification proceeded. The final DAS 181 drug substancepurified from Runs A and B was comparable to the DAS 181 referencestandard detected by SDS-PAGE with Coomassie Blue. Silver staindetection however, revealed several lightly stained bands below themajor band from samples of Runs A and B, signifying impurities.Conversely, Runs A and B had lower amounts of high molecular weightimpurities than the reference standard. None of these bands were visibleby Coomassie stain detection. Increasing the protein load forSDS-PAGE/Coomassie blue analysis (FIG. 6A) revealed that the drugsubstance from Run A and B were comparable to the reference standard.One major DAS 181 band near 50 kDa was revealed whereascontrast-enhanced close-up revealed a minor band immediately below themajor band for each loaded sample. This is likely an artifact ofoverloading the gel. A separate gel loaded with various quantities ofreference standard (8 ng to 20 μg) demonstrated that SDS PAGE withcolloidal blue stain could detect protein loads as low as 20 ng (FIG.6B). Lanes loaded with 20 μg of drug substance from Run A and B showedno other visible bands with colloidal blue detection (FIG. 5).Therefore, the minor impurity bands detected in the drug substance lanesusing silver stain accounted for less than 0.1% of the sample load (FIG.5A-F), because bands that reached a 20 ng level would have beenvisualized by the colloidal Coomassie blue stain.

Aggregation analysis following further purification revealed that thedrug substance from Runs A and B to be 99.8% and 99.9% monomer,respectively (Table 3).

TABLE 3 Analysis Comparison of products from alternative furtherpurification SEC-HPLC (% Monomer) Sample Run #3 20110523F2 Run #420110613F2 SP Eluate 99.6% 99.7% HIC FT 99.8% 99.8% UF/DF #1 Pool 99.7%99.8% Capto Adhere FT pH 7.7 99.7% 99.7% Titrated Capto Adhere FT 99.8%99.9% pH 5.0 Drug Substance 99.8% 99.9%

Purity analysis by further purification determined that the final drugsubstance from Runs A and B were 97.1% and 96.7% pure, respectively(Table 4).

TABLE 4 Analysis Comparison of products from alternative furtherpurification RP-HPLC (% Purity) Run #3 Run #4 Sample 20110523F220110613F2 SP Eluate 94.5% 94.5% HIC FT 94.8% 93.4% UF/DF #1 Pool 93.9%93.9% Capto Adhere FT pH 7.7 97.8% 96.8% Titrated Capto Adhere FT pH 5.097.6% 96.6% Drug Substance 97.1% 96.7% DAS181 Phase 2 Ref. Std. Lot46-012 94.2% 94.5%

The optimized process parameters used for Runs A and B resulted in areduced peak area and quantity samples from further purificationimpurity peaks (FIG. 7A-E). Additionally, the shoulder off of the mainDAS181 peak for the drug substance sample from run #1 to #4 was lesspronounced than in the reference standard.

Analysis of DAS 181 purity and variants obtained by further purificationmethods showed comparable chromatogram profiles of the final drugsubstance from bench-scale integrated Runs A and B to the DAS 181reference standard (FIG. 8), except for a difference in deamidation. Anincrease in deamidated DAS 181 (peak C) was observed in the drugsubstances from Runs A and B (29.6±2.4%, compared to the referencestandard at 13.2±0.1%). A corresponding decrease in DAS181 (peak A) wasalso observed. Peak A was determined to be 62.3% and 65.4% from Runs Aand B, respectively (Table 5).

TABLE 5 CEX-HPLC Analysis Comparison CEX-HPLC (% Peak Area) Sample A C F1 4 Run #3 Ferm 20110523F2 SP Eluate 76.7% 17.2% 3.0% 1.8% 1.3% HIC FT75.9% 17.9% 3.0% 1.8% 1.3% UF/DF #1 Pool 76.7% 17.3% 3.0% 1.8% 1.2%Capto Adhere FT pH 7.7 60.9% 33.5% 3.4% 1.4% 0.8% Titrated Capto AdhereFT 63.7% 30.8% 3.2% 1.6% 0.8% pH 5.0 Drug Substance 62.3% 31.9% 3.3%1.6% 0.9% DAS181 Phase 2 Ref. Std. 75.1% 13.3% 5.9% 4.5% 1.1% Lot 46-012Run #4 Ferm 20110613F2 SP Eluate 75.8% 17.4% 5.2% 0.7% 0.9% HIC FT 76.1%16.6% 5.3% 1.0% 0.9% UF/DF #1 Pool 76.6% 16.3% 5.3% 1.0% 0.8% CaptoAdhere FT pH 7.7 64.0% 28.6% 5.7% 1.1% 0.7% Titrated Capto Adhere FT63.0% 26.5% 5.4% 1.1% 4.1% pH 5.0 Drug Substance 65.4% 27.2% 5.7% 1.2%0.5% DAS181 Phase 2 Ref. Std. 75.9% 13.1% 6.1% 4.1% 0.8% Lot 46-012DAS181 Phase 3 DS Lot 46.9% 49.2% ND 1.0% 1.5% 750-0406-002 (Analyzed19Aug10)

These values are slightly lower than the DAS 181 reference standard,which has 75.5±0.4% peak A. The increase in DAS 181 deamidation wasattributed to the high pH environment needed for specific furtherpurification methods. The percent area of peak C increased two-fold whenpH was held at 7.7 from an initial pH 5.0 for 6-7 hours. The drugsubstance used for phase 1 clinical trials was ˜49%, since a number ofphase 1 process steps were performed at pH 8.0 (Table 5, FIG. 8F).

The area of peak 1, which represents misfolded DAS 181, was less in RunsA and B than in the reference standard. The percent area of peak 4 andpeak F for Runs A and B drug substance were consistent with thereference standard.

Analysis of the further purification of the final drug substanceproduced in Runs A and B measured 15 ng/mg and 33 ng/mg, respectively(Table 6). These values are below or near the limit of quantitation (16ng/mg) for this assay. The further purified product levels of the finaldrug substance were determined to be nearly identical to the levelsfound in products of alternative purification.

TABLE 6 ELISA Analysis Comparison of further purified products HCP (ngHCP per mg DAS181) Sample Run #3 20110523F2 Run #4 20110613F2 SP Eluate22.688 19.638 HIC FT 161 161 UF/DF #1 Pool 162 150 Capto Adhere Load 159121 Capto Adhere FT pH 7.7 41 37 Titrated Capto Adhere FT 176 1,723 pH5.0 Drug Substance 15 33

Analysis of sialidase specific activity showed the final drug substanceproduced in Runs A and B was 827 U/mg and 847 U/mg, respectively (Table7). Sialidase specific activity was comparable to the DAS 181 referencestandard (826 U/mg) that was run alongside the samples for qualitycontrol.

TABLE 7 Sialidase Activity Analysis Comparison Specific Activity (U permg DAS181) Sample Run #3 20110523F2 Run #4 20110613F2 SP Eluate 617 694HIC FT 608 718 UF/DF #1 Pool 669 Capto Adhere Load 724 757 Capto AdhereFT pH 7.7 737 656 Titrated Capto Adhere FT 574 609 pH 5.0 Drug Substance827 847

Endotoxin analysis of the final drug substance produced in bench-scaleintegrated Runs A and B measured 0.018 EU/mg and 0.043 EU/mg,respectively (Table 8). Endotoxin specification for DAS181 drugsubstance is 0.5 EU/mg. The endotoxin levels of the drug substancesproduced from both runs were well below this maximum. Runs A and B wereonly 3.5% and 8.7% of specification limit, respectively.

TABLE 8 LAL Chromogenic Endotoxin Analysis Comparison Endotoxin (EU permg DAS181) Sample Run #3 20110523F2 Run #4 20110613F2 SP Eluate 1.3680.240 HIC FT 0.093 0.126 UF/DF #1 Pool 0.003 0.003 Capto Adhere Load*0.004 0.006 Capto Adhere FT pH 7.7 0.006 0.006 Titrated Capto Adhere FT0.048 0.010 pH 5.0 Drug Substance 0.018 0.043 *Run #3 shows endotoxinmeasurements Capto Adhere Load Adjustment Buffer.

DAS 181 purification recovery yields attained in bench-scale integratedRuns A and B were 45.9% and 55.0%, respectively (Table 89. Overall yieldwas greatly affected by the performance of DAS 181 release via cellpermeabilization and clarification recovery, and a minimal amount ofDAS181 material was lost during the chromatography operations. Theprojected step yield was not met for primary recovery, but was higherthan projected for the purification operations. In total, DAS181recovery decreased 3.9±1.5% post-primary recovery.

TABLE 9 Integrated Runs A and B DAS181 Recovery Yields with ProjectedStep Yields Projected Run #3 20110523F2 Run #4 20110613F2 Sample StepYield Step Yield Overall Yield Step Yield Overall Yield Harvest 70.0% 100% 100.0%  100% 100.0% Detergent Permeabilysate 39.6% 39.6% 45.2%45.2% PEI Permeabilysate 171.5%  67.9% 194.1%  87.8% ClarifiedPermeabilysate 72.8% 49.5% 71.8% 63.0% D0HC-Filtered Permeabilysate97.7% 48.3% 95.9% 60.4% SP Load (125% Dilution, 2M Urea) 95.0% — 48.3% —60.4% FT  0.6% 0.3%  0.0% 0.0% UTSP Wash  2.1% 1.0%  0.3% 0.2% SP Eluate112.3%  54.2% 112.3%  67.9% HIC Load 95.0% — 54.2% — 67.9% HIC FT105.9%  57.5% 105.9%  71.8% UF/DF #1 Pool pH 5.0 95.0% 87.8% 50.4% 88.5%63.5% Titrated UF/DF #1 Pool pH 7.7 99.0% 99.5% 50.2% 101.3%  64.3%Capto Adhere Load pH 7.7 90.0% — 50.2% — 64.3% Capto Adhere FT pH 7.794.5% 47.4% 91.6% 58.9% Titrated Capto Adhere FT pH 5.0 99.0% 97.7%46.3% 97.6% 57.4% Drug Substance (UF/DF #2 Pool) 90.0% 99.3% 45.9% 95.7%55.0%

Recovery of further purified products of Runs A and B was 93.1±1.5%.This was an improvement over the products of alternatively furtherpurified products used in run #1 and #2, which yielded 89.9±2.4%recovery. Yields for the UF/DF #1 operation were lower than expected forall bench-scale integrated runs, ˜88-90%. Projected step yields wereexceeded for all chromatography operations.

It was concluded that the proposed phase 3 DAS 181 purification processoptimized with improved parameters produced drug substance that wascomparable to or in some instances better than the DAS 181 reference, interms of purity, purification recovery yield, and activity. The lowRP-HPLC purity issue are previously experienced was corrected with CaptoAdhere chromatography in place of RP chromatography.

Example 3 Optimizing Parameters for the Reagents of DetergentSolubilization Protein Purification

Various parameters of the different reagents of the detergentsolubilization protocol were assayed and compared for optimization ofthe assay based on protein yield. First, various concentrations ofTriton in combination with a limited range of SDS concentrations wereselected to be evaluated for DAS 181 recovery yield. Further, variouscombinations of sodium phosphate and EDTA pre-treatment at pH 6 foreffect on DAS 181 recovery by detergent permeabilization using 7% TritonX-100 and 0.1% SDS. In addition, it was determine whether duration ofPEI treatment impacts the characteristics of DAS181 during hold timesextending up to 5 days at room temperature. Lastly, the stability of DAS181 clarified detergent permeabilysate, stored at 4° C. was evaluatedand utilized to determine permissible hold time prior to SPchromatography for large scale manufacturing.

Methods

Detergent Concentration Analysis: Fermentations were Aliquoted andSubject to Detergent Solubilization Purification.

The detergents were added at various concentrations and agitated for 6hours at 30° C. Supernatants were subjected to cation exchange HPLC. Therelative peak areas (% of total peak area) were determined for peaks A,C, and F. DAS 181 concentration was determined by comparison of the CEXtotal peak area to a standard of known concentration, and thisconcentration was normalized to the fermentation harvest yield asdetermined by sialidase assay to give recovery (% of harvest). Selectdetergent solubilized samples were clarified by addition of 10% PEI (in50 mM potassium phosphate, 200 mM NaCl, final pH 6.0) to reach a finalPEI concentration of 0.48%. Supernatants were subject to turbiditymeasurements and further purification.

Sodium Phosphate and EDTA Pre-Treatment Analysis:

The fermentation was harvested after 24 hours induction. Dibasic sodiumphosphate heptahydrate and EDTA free acid at pH 8.7 were added atvarious concentration combination. The samples were subject to thedetergent solubilization protocol. Supernatants were subject to cationexchange HPLC. The relative peak areas (% of total peak area) weredetermined for peaks A, C, and F. DAS181 concentration was determined bycomparison of the total peak area to a standard of known concentration,and this concentration was normalized to the fermentation harvest yieldto give recovery (% of harvest).

Evaluation of PEI Clarified Permeabilisate Concentration:

The fermentation was harvested after 24 hrs induction. The samples weresubject to the detergent solubilization protocol. PEI was added to afinal concentration of 0.5%. Samples were removed from the fermenter atvarious time intervals. Supernatants were subject to OD measurement andfurther methods of purification.

Evaluation of PEI Clarified Permeabilisate Storage Time:

Starting material used in this study was further purified permeabilysatefrom a fermentation run. These samples were subject to further methodsof purification.

Results Detergent Concentration Analysis:

Detergents Triton and SDS were added in various concentrationcombinations during the detergent solubilization protocol. The yields ofDAS181 that results are summarized in Table 8.

TABLE 8 DAS 181 Release Following Treatment with Various ConcentrationCombinations of Triton and SDS % SDS % Triton 0 0.1 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.350.4 0.45 0.5 Average StDev 1 69.8% 59.2% 56.4% 51.1% 59.7% 52.7% 50.1%50.8% 55.1% 56.1% 6.3% 2 67.7% 62.0% 60.6% 65.4% 61.3% 59.9% 60.1% 65.0%64.8% 63.0% 2.8% 3 71.5% 66.8% 61.98 63.8% 62.1% 62.6% 65.7% 62.8% 62.9%64.5% 3.1% 4 64.4%. 68.7% 61.4% 65.7% 70.7% 56.8% 56.3% 57.4% 61.1%62.5% 5.2% 4.5 77.2% 67.2% 60.1% 61.4% 65.8% 59.2% 72.6% 70.8% 73.1%67.5% 6.4% 5 72.3% 64.6% 65.9% 67.1% 71.4% 67.8% 69.5% 68.9% 67.6% 68.3%2.4% 5.5  61.% 71.9% 74.2% 70.5% 63.9% 66.2% 66.7% 64.1% 65.3% 67.2%4.2% 6  64.% 73.3% 74.5% 64.7% 64.7% 65.6% 74.1% 61.2% 62.7% 67.3% 5.2%7 63.1% 79.8% 72.3% 74.9% 67.6% 71.44 71.1% 69.5% 66.7% 70.7% 4.9% 874.3% 74.6% 75.1% 75.9% 72.1% 72.7% 71.0% 72.4% 72.3% 73.4% 1.6% % SDS %Triton 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.5 Average StDev 5 80.5% 76.0%74.0% 75.6% 91.5% 76.5% 54.4% 70.3% 74.8% 10.4% 6 77.9% 78.1% 77.4%75.7% 73.7% 77.6% 71.4% 69.5% 75.2% 3.3% 7 76.6% 76.8% 76.4% 73.2% 72.9%71.4% 74.5% 70.6% 74.0% 2.4% 8 75.7% 73.2% 77.1% 73.8% 72.1% 73.8% 71.2%73.3% 73.8% 1.9% 9 77.3% 79.6% 72.2% 74.0% 75.1% 74.7% 76.3% 75.6% 75.6%2.2% 10 78.1% 75.9% 77.3% 75.5% 69.4% 68.2% 71.7% 71.7% 73.5% 3.7% 1169.0% 70.2% 66.7% 69.7% 72.4% 70.7% 71.8% 67.4% 69.7% 2.0% 12 73.8%68.3% 71.7% 73.4% 69.1% 67.5% 67.8% 69.5% 70.1% 2.5% 13 71.9% 71.8%69.2% 65.0% 70.4% 69.3% 66.2% 65.5% 68.7% 2.8% 14 68.7% 62.2% 58.3%65.0% 62.6% 68.7% 67.8% 61.3% 64.3% 3.8% 15 69.8% 66.6% 68.1% 66.1%67.7% 66.1% 63.9% 60.4% 66.1% 2.9%As Triton X-100 concentration was increased from 1% to 8%, there was noclear trend in DAS181 yield as SDS concentration changes, suggestingthat SDS, although itself a critical factor, did not affect yield as afactor of its concentration. At 8% Triton X-100, there was a clearincrease in recovery with a tighter standard deviation with an averageyield recovery of 73% across all SDS concentrations. Higherconcentrations were hence investigated. A stable yield was noted from5-9% Triton X-100. The yield began to decrease at concentrations greaterthan 9% Triton X-100. A trend of decreased DAS181 yield at higher SDSconcentrations was also noted. It was observed during sampling thatdetergent treatments containing >9% Triton X-100 were more viscous thansamples with lower Triton X-100 concentrations.

Treatment of samples with PEI showed a consistent yield at Triton X-100concentrations of 5-9%, although there was variation in the assay. Aslight decrease in yield was observed with 10% Triton X-100 and higher.Overall increased turbidity was observed in samples isolated fromprotocols which utilized increased Triton X-100 concentration. (Table10).

TABLE 10 DAS Recovery after PEI Treatment for Various Concentrations ofDetergent Combinations PEI Clarified Samples Sample % RecoveryO.D_(600 nm)  5.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 66.3 0.216  6.0% Triton/0.15% SDS62.3 0.225  7.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 60.7 0.243  8.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 59.70.237  9.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 64.2 0.332 10.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 58.70.399 11.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 56.9 0.415 12.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 57.30.531 13.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 57.7 0.533 14.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 54.10.732 15.0% Triton/0.15% SDS 54.5 0.763

It was concluded that optimal Triton X-100 concentrations were between5-8%, demonstrating process tolerance to Triton concentration. DAS 181yield was consistent from 5-10% Triton X-100, while turbidity wasconsistent from 5-8% Triton X-100. These data support the use of TritonX-100 in the range of 5-8% in combination with 0.05-0.2% SDS.

Sodium Phosphate and EDTA Pre-Treatment Analysis:

The data showed a general increase in DAS181 release as the combinationsof sodium phosphate heptahydrate and EDTA increased in concentrations(Table 11). Also, little to no DAS181 release was observed in thecontrol sample that received no pre-treatment prior to pH 6permeabilization. Pre-treatment at pH 5 with the selected pre-treatmentconcentrations of 50 mM sodium phosphate and 100 mM EDTA hadapproximately the same percent recovery of DAS 181 as the sameconditions at pH 6 (Table 11).

TABLE 11 Effect of Various Detergent Permeabilizing Agents on DAS181Recovery EDTA % Recovery (pH 6) Sample NaPi (mM) (mM) 30 min 60 min 180min  1 10 75 47.6% 49.4% 41.7%  2 50 75 50.6% 49.2% 52.5%  3 75 75 59.4%58.8% 60.2%  4 25 90 54.4% 56.4% 55.4%  5 50 90 59.5% 55.2% 59.6%  6 7590 57.5% 56.4% 63.2%  7 10 100 53.8% 52.1% 56.8%  8 25 100 55.7% 56.0%61.5%  9 50 100 60.0% 58.3% 68.3% 10 75 100 59.3% 59.3% 68.1% 11 100 10060.8% 62.7% 65.4% 12 25 125 58.9% 54.8% 58.8% 13 50 125 60.6% 60.6%59.6% 14 75 125 60.1% 61.1% 58.8% 15 10 200 64.9% 64.3% 64.9% 16 50 20062.9% 67.3% 65.4% 17 100 200 61.9% 87.6% 63.2% 18 0 0 2.3% 2.2% 0.0% 19(pH 5.0) 50 100 58.5% 63.3% 59.6% 20 (pH 8.0) 50 100 53.2% 61.3% 54.5%

It was concluded that pre-treatment combinations of sodium phosphate andEDTA are required for effective Triton X-100 and SDS permeabilization ofpDAS181 E. coli to allow release of DAS181. Overall, these observationssuggest that detergent permeabilization is robust over a wide range ofsodium phosphate and EDTA concentrations, pH conditions, and incubationtime. The combination of 50 mM sodium phosphate and 100 mM EDTA at pH6was selected as the optimal pretreatment concentrations.

Evaluation of PEI Clarified Permeabilisate:

Clarified supernatants from PEI treatment held at room temperatureincrease in turbidity with extended hold times (Table 12). The increasein turbidity was greatest in samples that had the shortest PEI treatmenttime, and turbidity changed least in samples that had longer PEItreatment times; confirming that longer PEI treatment times resulted inclarified material with reduced precipitate formation. PEI treatments >7hrs result in the smallest turbidity increase within 24 hrs, and PEItreatments >20 hrs result in the best stability (OD600 nm<2.0) up to thelongest duration measured, which was 120 hrs. PEI treatments <6 hrsresulted in turbidity OD600 nm>3.0 at 120 hours, and slightly increasedturbidity at 24 hrs when compared to PEI treatments >7 hrs.

DAS 181 recovery was determined immediately after PEI treatment andcentrifugation. The recovery ranged from 81 to 95% (Table 4 and FIG. 2).The majority of the sample points have consistent recovery between 83 to89%. The ratios of the DAS181 variants measured by the rapid CEX-HPLCassay (Peaks A, C and F) were constant within the error of the assay(Table 13). The main DAS181 peak (A) was between 79.93% and 81.63% forall PEI treatments. Peak C was between 10.20% and 12.06%, and peak Franged between 7.81% and 8.91%. These data show long PEI treatment timedoes not adversely affect DAS181 product quality.

TABLE 12 Effect of PEI Treatment Duration and Post-Clarification HoldTime on Permeabilisate Turbidity Hold After PEI Treatment. 0.5% PEITreatment (Hrs) (Hrs) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 20 24 0 0.20 0.22 0.240.27 0.27 0.27 0.28 0.23 0.29 0.27 0.26 0.27 0.32 0.35 24 0.91 0.92 0.900.95 0.90 0.93 0.80 0.75 0.74 0.74 0.69 0.71 0.69 ND 48 2.99 2.81 2.232.42 1.62 2.45 2.12 ND ND ND ND ND 1.72 1.68 120 3.07 3.53 2.89 3.143.25 3.23 3.00 ND ND ND ND ND 1.90 1.90 ND = Not determined

TABLE 13 DAS181 Recovery and DAS181 Variant levels Immediately FollowingPEI Treatment. Parameter 0.5% PEI Treatment (Hrs) Measured 0 1 2 3 4 5 67 8 9 10 12 20 24 DAS181   81%   86%   88%   95%   83%   84%   86%   87%  88%   89%   87%   87%   87%   88% % recovery Peak A 81.43% 80.49%81.02% 80.60% 80.00% 81.08% 80.31% 80.38% 81.47% 81.49% 81.49% 80.89%79.93% 81.63% Peak C 10.20% 10.77% 10.33% 10.73% 11.21% 10.27% 10.79%10.86% 10.37% 10.49% 10.41% 10.67% 12.00% 10.55% Peak F  8.37%  8.74% 8.65%  8.67%  8.79%  8.65%  8.91%  8.76%  8.16%  8.02%  8.10%  8.44% 8.01%  7.81%

It was concluded that following 24 hours of hold time at roomtemperature, clarified permeabilisate turbidity remained low for alltreatment times, but was lowest for times ≧6 hrs. After 48 hrs hold, theincrease in turbidity is least for the longer PEI treatments. The ratiosof DAS 181 variants did not change with PEI treatment duration. Thesedata indicate that a PEI treatment time of over 6 hours allowed goodstability of the protein for at least 24 hours. This study also suggeststhat PEI clarified supernatants can be held at least 24 hours withoutaffecting filterability.

Evaluation of PEI Clarified Permeabilisate Storage Time:

Turbidity of the additionally purified clarified detergentpermeabilysate did not increase after 1 week of storage at 4° C. (Table14). The turbidity increased by 46% from week 1 to week 2 of storage andabout 7% from week 2 to week 3.

TABLE 14 Turbidity of Clarified Detergent Permeabilysate ClarifiedDetergent Turbidity Permeabilysate (OD₆₀₀) T = 0 0.66 1 week @ 4° C.0.68 2 weeks @ 4° C. 1.25 3 weeks @ 4° C. 1.34

SP FF chromatography recovery was as expected for each run with somevariability in loss of DAS 181 to FT and UTSP wash (Table 15).Approximately 5-6% loss was observed upon further purification, whilealmost no DAS 181 was observed following further purification.

15: Yield and mass balance for Analysis Comparison of Products fromFurther Purification Flow- Clarified Detergent Through UTSP MassPermeabilysate (FT) wash SP Eluate Balance T = 0 0.6% 2.1% 112.3% 114.8%1 week @ 4° C. 5.5% 3.8% 97.2% 106.5% 2 weeks @ 4° C. 6.0% 3.5% 96.3%105.8% 3 weeks @ 4° C. 4.7% 0.2% 104.4% 109.3%

Purity analysis by additional, alternative purification methods showedthat the SP eluates prepared after 1-3 week hold at 4° C. were similarto the SP eluate prepared with fresh feed stock (Table 16). Relativelyhigh purity through the further purification was observed.

TABLE 16 Clarified Detergent Permeabilysate Stability Post FurtherPurification Summary SP Eluate Clarified Detergent RP-HPLC SEC-HPLC HCPPermeabilysate Purity (% Monomer) (ng/mg) T = 0 94.5% 99.8% 22,688 1week @ 4° C. 95.5% 99.7% 9,692 2 weeks @ 4° C. 94.4% 99.7% 8,950 3 weeks@ 4° C. 94.4% 99.8% 12,120

Results following further purification revealed a slight increase indeamidation of DAS 181 as seen by increasing % Peak C in the SP eluatesproduced after 2 weeks of storage (Table 16). This degree of deamidationis consistent with recent Bench Integrated run samples of furtherpurification which can all be considered effectively T=O samples forclarified detergent permeabilysate storage. SDS-PAGE analysis showedconsistent stability between products of alternate further purification(FIG. 9). Impurity band intensity appeared close to identical in furtherpurified samples after 1, 2 and 3 weeks of 4° C. storage. The T=O sampleimpurities appeared to be more intense than the other samples, which maybe due to slightly more heavily loaded sample.

It was determined that there was no decrease in the purity of furtherpurified samples produced from feed stock held up to 3 weeks at 4° C.CEXHPLC analysis however did show a slight increase in deamidation (peakC) after 2 weeks of storage. Clarified detergent permeabilysate isstable at 4° C. for up to one week as shown by the purity of the furtherpurified samples obtained.

DAS181 Sequences

DAS 181 (without amino terminal Met) (SEQ ID NO: 1)GDHPQATPAPAPDASTELPASMSQAQHLAANTATDNYRIPAITTAPNGDLLISYDERPKDNGNGGSDAPNPNHIVQRRSTDGGKTWSAPTYIHQGTETGKKVGYSDPSYVVDHQTGTIFNFHVKSYDQGWGGSRGGTDPENRGIIQAEVSTSTDNGWTWTHRTITADITKDKPWTARFAASGQGIQIQHGPHAGRLVQQYTIRTAGGAVQAVSVYSDDHGKTWQAGTPIGTGMDENKVVELSDGSLMLNSRASDGSGFRKVAHSTDGGQTWSEPVSDKNLPDSVDNAQIIRAFPNAAPDDPRAKVLLLSHSPNPRPWSRDRGTISMSCDDGASWTTSKVFHEPFVGYTTIAVQSDGSIGLLSEDAHNGADYGGIWYRNFTMNWLGEQCGQKP AKRKKKGGKNGKNRRNRKKKNPDAS 181 (with amino terminal Met) (SEQ ID NO: 2)MGDHPQATPAPAPDASTELPASMSQAQHLAANTATDNYRIPAITTAPNGDLLISYDERPKDNGNGGSDAPNPNHIVQRRSTDGGKTWSAPTYIHQGTETGKKVGYSDPSYVVDHQTGTIFNFHVKSYDQGWGGSRGGTDPENRGIIQAEVSTSTDNGWTWTHRTITADITKDKPWTARFAASGQGIQIQHGPHAGRLVQQYTIRTAGGAVQAVSVYSDDHGKTWQAGTPIGTGMDENKVVELSDGSLMLNSRASDGSGFRKVAHSTDGGQTWSEPVSDKNLPDSVDNAQIIRAFPNAAPDDPRAKVLLLSHSPNPRPWSRDRGTISMSCDDGASWTTSKVFHEPFVGYTTIAVQSDGSIGLLSEDAHNGADYGGIWYRNFTMNWLGEQCGQKPAKRKKKGGKNGKNRRNRKKKNP

Other Embodiments

It is understood that while the invention has been described inconjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoingdescription is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of theinvention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Otheraspect, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A method for releasing an intracellular protein of interest from abacterial cell or fungal expressing the protein of interest, the methodcomprising: (a) providing a culture of cells expressing theintracellular protein of interest; (b1) contacting the culture with aninorganic salt; holding the culture containing the added inorganic saltfor at least 10 minutes; contacting the culture containing the addedinorganic salt with a chelating agent; or (b2) contacting the culturewith an inorganic salt and a chelating agent; (c) holding the culturecontaining the added inorganic salt and added chelating agent for atleast 10 minutes; (d) optionally adjusting the pH of the culturecontaining the added inorganic salt and the added chelating agent to apH between 4 and 9; and optionally holding the culture containing theadded inorganic salt and the added chelating agent for at least 15minutes; (e) contacting the culture containing the added inorganic saltand the added chelating agent with a detergent; (f) holding the culturecontaining the added inorganic salt, the added chelating agent and theadded detergent for at least 1 hour; (g) optionally lowering thetemperature of the culture containing the added inorganic salt, theadded chelating agent and the added detergent; (h) contacting theculture containing the added inorganic salt, the added chelating agentand the added detergent with a precipitating agent; (i) holding theculture containing the added inorganic salt, the added chelating agent,the added detergent, and the added precipitating agent for at least 1hour, and (j) subjecting the culture comprising the added inorganicsalt, the added chelating agent, the added detergent and the addedprecipitating agent to a method to remove a substantial portion of thecellular debris, thereby providing a composition comprising the proteinof interest; wherein the method does not comprise at least two stepsselected from a group consisting of: (i) mechanical disruption of thecells, (ii) removing substantially all of the culture media, and (iii)addition of an enzyme that degrades cell wall material.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the method does not comprise any of the steps selectedfrom a group consisting of: (i) mechanical disruption of the cell, (ii)removing substantially all of the culture media, and (iii) addition ofan enzyme that degrades cell wall material.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the method does comprise removing substantially all of theculture media.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the inorganic salt isselected from: sodium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, and sodium chloride.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the detergent is selected from a groupconsisting of: Triton, SDS, CHAPS 3, Nonidet P40, n-Octylglucoside, andTween-20.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the detergent is a mixtureof two detergents selected from a group consisting of: Triton, SDS,CHAPS 3, Nonidet P40, n-Octylglucoside, and Tween-20.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the precipitating agent is selected from a groupconsisting of: PEI, and ammonium salt, and polyethylene glycol, TCA andethanol.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the cell is E. coli.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the protein of interest is DAS
 181. 10. Themethod of any of claims 1-9 wherein step (c) is at least 20 minutes. 11.The method of any of claims 1-10 wherein step (d) is at least 30minutes, 45 minutes, or 1 hours or between 30 and 1 hour.
 12. The methodof any of claims 1-11 wherein step (i) is at least 30 minutes, 1 hours,2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours or 2-8hours.
 13. The method of any of claims 1-11 wherein step (i) is at least30 minutes, 1 hours, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, 7hours, 8 hours, hours 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours, 9 hours, 10 hours, 11hours, 12 hours, or 5-13 hours.
 14. The method of any of claims 1-3wherein step (g) entails lowering the temperature below 25° C.
 15. Themethod of any of the claims 1-14 wherein step (h) takes place at 20°C.-25° C., 21°-22° C., or 22° C.
 16. The method of claim 1 wherein thesalt of step (b1) or (b2) is at least at a concentration of 10 mM, 15mM, 20 mM, 25 mM, 30 mM, 35 mM, 40 mM, 45 mM, 50 mM, 50 mM, 55 mM, or 60mM
 17. The method of step 1 wherein the bacterial cell is a gramnegative bacteria.
 18. The method of claim 1 or claim 9 furthercomprising purifying the protein of interest from the compositioncomprising the protein of interest.